adminBERLIN. — Bayern Munich will be the team to beat when the draw for the Champions League soccer’s quarter-finals is made tomorrow, according to their German international Thomas Mueller.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern threw down a marker for their European rivals when they hammered Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 in Munich last week in the last 16, second leg clash, having been held to a 0-0 draw in Ukraine.
The 2013 European champions are desperate to play in the June 6 final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and Mueller, who scored twice in the Donetsk rout, said Bayern will be one of the top names out of the hat when the draw for the last eight is made in Nyon, Switzerland.
“We were strong in the group phase and put down a marker in the last 16 which certainly made all the other teams sit up and take notice,” the 25-year-old striker told Sport Bild. “From what I have seen so far, we are the most superior team in the Champions League this season.”
The quarter-finals will be played over two legs on April 14-15 and 21-22 with the teams drawn first out of the hat hosting the first match.
Guardiola led Bayern to the German title and Cup double last season on his first season in charge, but his side were sent crashing out of the Champions League semi-finals after a 4-0 drubbing at home by eventual winners Real Madrid after losing 1-0 in Spain.
Meanwhile, there was some good news for Bayern yesterday as wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery trained with the side having missed last Saturday’s 4-0 Bundesliga win at Werder Bremen with injury.
Robben sat out the Werder rout with a trapped nerve, but took part in team training, while Ribery trained on his own after straining an ankle ligament in the Donetsk win.
Both could now be fit for Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach with leaders Bayern 11 points clear of Wolsburg at the top of the table.— AFP.
Online Reporter